Liqui Moly Synthoil Energy A40 SAE 0W-40 | 5 L

It should be stated that different vehicles have different needs from the oils that they are filled with. With that being said, the properties of Liqui Moly may not be best suited for a particular vehicle or a different weight/viscosity may be preferable. It should also be noted that manufacturers change the composition of oils from time to time without changing the name or the viscosity (I have/work on primarily german cars & the manufacturers I work with, Porsche & VW/Audi, are constantly testing oils to see if they meet the requirements of their motors) so this should also be definitely taken into account. As an example, my experience is that liqui Moly (at 0W-40) is a bit thicker when cold compared to Mobile 1 (0W-40 as well) – I determined this based on the noise made by one of the cars (2006 Audi A6 with the 3.2 FSI v6) at start up: it sounded as though the tensioner for the timing chain didn’t have full pressure at start up, a common noise/condition experienced with these motors, resulting in a tiny bit of slap against the tensioner when the motor turned over in the cold (this is during the winter in NY so temps range between 20-40 F). My experience with Mobile 1 0W-40 was that I didn’t really hear that sound in the same conditions. By all means this does not mean this oil is bad – to me this is most likely caused by it being a little bit thicker than it’s Mobile 1 counterpart (both oils are 502.00 certified, the VW/Audi oil certification for the motor in the vehicle). However, it could easily have been caused by other properties in the oil that could result in it flowing out of galleys/parts on the upper portion of the motor – I can’t confirm that it’s the weight, but that’s my guess. As I said, this doesn’t mean the oil is bad, if you are looking for the same viscosity as M1 0W-40 it might be a good call to try out 5W-40 Liqui Moly.

With the above being said, I have the oil tested regularly on my primary vehicle (2012 VW Golf R – this has the 2.0 liter turbo motor from the previous generation, but is labeled ‘TSI’ so that it is consistent with the other 2.0 liter motors in this generation of the Golf lineup) which is quite extensively modified putting out more than double the stock amount of torque. The oil change interval recommended by VW is 10k miles with the initial/recommended oil being Castrol (but the way I see it is this is basically bought by the oil company rather than chosen by the manufacturer). I change my oil at 5k miles as I’m not comfortable with the amount of build up around the oil filter when waiting till the 10k mile mark.
For the first two oil changes I used Castrol synthetic 5W-40, followed by about 3-4 using Mobile 1 0W-40, and the remaining have been with Liqui Moly Synthoil Energy 0W-40 (I’m at 46k miles so I’ve done about the same number of changes using liqui moly as mobile 1). The results from the tetsts on the used Castrol oil were miserable – there was a large amount of wear (which is totally normal for the first oil change, and even not that big of a deal for the second oil change), but the viscosity, flash point, general status of the oil after being used were WELL below what is considered to be OK & in addition the materials that the oil used for lubrication were fairly diminished.
The results from the tests with Mobil 1 oil showed that the oil viscosity, flash points, etc. were where they should be, the oil had average amount of metals from wear (and this is compared with ‘stock’ motors, not with modified motors) and the oil still had very strong amounts of lubricants – it seems as though the primary one used in Mobil 1 is molybdenum.
Even with the strong results from Mobil 1 I figured I’d try out Liqui Moly – I’m very happy that I have. Currently the car has the stock oil cooling system (it uses a fairly small water-oil heat exchanger) so the oil temps get up there, especially when the car is driven hard. For these reasons I’m happy with the thicker oil (I actually have a divorced oil cooling setup waiting to be installed – since the oil will be cooled much more effectively, and even with a thermostat on the oil line, I may reconsider the thicker oil and possibly go with a thinner weight). The wear indicators are still WELL below what is considered average for a stock motor (i’m talking about 1 or 2 ppm of Iron in the oil) and the properties of the oil are right around border line with what is considered normal. It seems like Mobil 1 has better staying power in terms of viscosity and such, but at the 5k oil change interval Liqui Moly is totally fine.
I’m also very happy with it because I’m not totally positive how it performs the wear protection, but it isn’t using molybdenum (as there is very little of this in the analysis results – which is funny since that’s what the name is from), but it works amazing and for the application it’s great.
The amount of oil consumption with Liqui moly is also a bit lower than with Mobil 1 (don’t even get me started on Castrol…). I bought the car ‘new’ with 785 miles so I didn’t have control over the very initial break in of the car, but once I purchased it I made sure to drive the motor in a way that seated the rings as well as possible (I used the method that is advertised by Ruf, the well known Porsche tuner). As such I add about .5 to 0.75 quarts of oil (liqui moly) over 5k miles which is definitely within spec & not bad considering that there are plenty of motors out there eating a lot more.

To summarize – excelent oil, great price, very highly recommended by many mechanics that know their stuff

Arrived on time and exactly as advertised.

Ok

Very good oil

Liqui Moly is slightly better than Mobil1, in terms of smoother engine idling, but I think either one is fine as along as you change your oil as required. Mobil1 is much cheaper;)

Nothing better than this for your car